Copper

CopperA widespread and industrially important mineral, copper has been used by humans as ornamentation, tools, and as a precious metal for thousands of years. The word copper originates from the latin for the island of Cyprus, where early very productive copper mines supplied much of the ancient world with the material. Copper is a so called native metal, which means it naturally occurs in its metallic form. Natural copper is relatively soft and often found

from the Upper Silurian age

They were recovered from deposits in Morocco and date back to the late Cretaceous Period

Aquamarine is a form of Beryl crystal long sought after as a gem and precious stone due to its beautiful blue-green hue and clarity

It rarely occurs in crystal form but is often found in botryoidal or fibrous formations

While in its sticky gel state

Natural copper is relatively soft and often found in intricate and unique structures

Azurite is a striking copper-based mineral found in shades of deep blue to vivid green

many of which feature coatings of fine

These specimens of natural uncut aquamarine occur within a unique matrix of thick mica with a strong yellowish tint

It has a very dramatic "head shield" which is often interpreted as a mechanism to help it stay on top of a soft ocean floor

This preglabellar ring (head shield) is covered in many sensory pits which may have held hairlike features when the trilobite was alive

where some truly impressive specimens like this very rarely emerge from the mines